Library Artifact: World War I Horse-Drawn British Ambulance

Dr. Evan Calkins, MD, emeritus faculty member, UB School of Medicine, donated this model of a World War I horse-drawn British ambulance, with soldiers, to the History of Medicine Collection. Manufactured by the Hauser Company of Germany during the early 1930s, the ambulance is made of metal, while the figures and horses are made of a composite material called Masse or Elastolin. This substance, consisting of sawdust and glue, was poured into molds containing wire strengtheners, and, after drying, each piece was carefully hand-painted.